the night watchman

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Gadianton
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the night watchman

Post by Gadianton »

My right-wing friend has apparently forgotten that he's not supposed to forward me his junk email anymore and sent me something today. If I had to speculate, he reasoned that it isn't overtly promoting Trump and so it is okay. He still doesn't understand that it's not about who it's attacking or promoting, but about being stupid. In fact, it's not even entirely about being stupid, but about being stupid constantly, all day long the emails coming in, one after another; never ending recycled outrage.

I figured I'd make the best of it by sharing it with the group, since I'm sure some of you are wondering just what it is that inspires this individual with his righteous fury. Certainly it's not the worst of the lot, but a solid example of the 5-10 of these he gets everyday from his friends.

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THE NIGHT WATCHMAN : an interesting fable that could actually be true.
Once upon a time the government had a vast scrap yard in the middle of a desert.
Congress said, "Someone may steal from it at night." So they created a night watchman position and hired a person for the job.

Then Congress said, "How does the watchman do his job without instruction?" So they created a planning department and hired two people, one person to write the instructions, and one person to do time studies.

Then Congress said, "How will we know the night watchman is doing the tasks correctly?" So they created a Quality Control department and hired two people. One was to do the studies and one was to write the reports.

Then Congress said, "How are these people going to get paid?" So they created two positions: a time keeper and a payroll officer then hired two people.

Then Congress said, "Who will be accountable for all of these people?" So they created an administrative section and hired three people, an Administrative Officer, Assistant Administrative Officer, and a Legal Secretary.

Then Congress said, "We have had this command in operation for one year and we are $918,000 over budget, we must cut back." So they laid off the night watchman.

NOW slowly, let it sink in.

Quietly, we go like sheep to slaughter. Does anybody remember the reason given for the establishment of the DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY during the Carter administration?

Anybody? Anything? Anyone? No? Didn't think so!

Bottom line is, we've spent several hundred billion dollars in support of an agency, the reason for which very few people who read this can remember!

Ready??
It was very simple... and at the time, everybody thought it very appropriate.

The Department of Energy was instituted on 8/04/1977, TO LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL.

Hey, pretty efficient, huh???

AND NOW IT'S 2022 -- 45 YEARS LATER -- AND THE BUDGET FOR THIS "NECESSARY" DEPARTMENT IS AT $242 BILLION A YEAR. IT HAS 16,000 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES ANDAPPROXIMATELY 100,000 CONTRACT EMPLOYEES; AND LOOK AT THE JOB IT HAS DONE!

(THIS IS WHERE YOU SLAP YOUR FOREHEAD AND SAY, "WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?") 34 years ago 30% of our oil consumption was foreign imports. Today 70% of our oil consumption is foreign imports.

Ah, yes -- good old Federal bureaucracy.

NOW, WE HAVE TURNED OVER THE BANKING SYSTEM, HEALTH CARE, AND THE AUTO INDUSTRY TO THE SAME GOVERNMENT? What can possibly go wrong?


Hello!! Anybody Home?

Signed.... The Night Watchman
**************************************************
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High Spy
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Re: the night watchman

Post by High Spy »

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/ocean-thermal-energy-conversion-act-1980-statement-signing-s-2492-into-law wrote:
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Act of 1980 Statement on Signing S. 2492 Into Law.

August 04, 1980
I have signed into law S. 2492, the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Act of 1980, sponsored by Senator Daniel Inouye. This bill establishes a licensing and permitting program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for the ocean thermal energy conversion industry and authorizes use of the Maritime Administration's loan guarantee authority for the construction of ocean energy facilities, once this technology has been successfully demonstrated.

Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) is a new energy technology that, when developed, could contribute greatly to our goal of meeting 20 percent of U.S. energy needs from solar and renewable sources by the year 2000. Just 2 weeks ago, I signed into law the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Research, Development, and Demonstration Act. That law authorizes an ambitious program of research and development of OTEC technology. S. 2492 is another early step in the process of bringing OTEC technology into the mainstream of our energy marketplace.
President Carter proposed OTEC to counter the OPEC embargo. Not only does it produce zero-carbon energy, it can also neutralize typhoons, produce tons of fresh water and numerous other by-products. It also can supply many side-benefits such as bringing new life to sterile regions of the oceans, thereby enhancing food production.

But exactly like the watchman, Carter’s vision was mischaracterized and Bush’s big oil buddies ensured OTECs demise.
. . . * . . . . . . . . **

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Some Schmo
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Re: the night watchman

Post by Some Schmo »

Gadianton wrote:
Mon May 02, 2022 3:48 pm
THE NIGHT WATCHMAN : an interesting fable that could actually be true.
Sure, if you decide to ignore facts and logic, it could totally be true!

If the GOP base is constantly reading stuff like this, it's little wonder they all sound like morons.
Religion is for people whose existential fear is greater than their common sense.

The god idea is popular with desperate people.
huckelberry
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Re: the night watchman

Post by huckelberry »

Sounds like a story Ronald Reagan might have told,Or at least something like it.
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Re: the night watchman

Post by MeDotOrg »

First of all, I think there is value in this story. Government needs to continually re-examine the Raison d'être for governmental agencies.

But here's an example of the reverse corollary:

I worked for 2 companies in the 1990's. Both of them adopted a management style that looked at all sectors of the company as 'revenue centers'. If you weren't generating revenue you got your budget cut. Customer service didn't generate much revenue, ergo not needed.

For the first few quarters, things looked rosy. Less overhead in Customer Service, more profit. But poor customer service led to cancellations. Guess what? It took MORE money to get new customers to replace the ones who were cancelling than it would have taken to maintain staffing in Customer Service.

How does this correlate to Government spending? In a million ways, from providing pre-natal care to bridge maintenance. A short term budget cut can create a long-term problem.
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Binger
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Re: the night watchman

Post by Binger »

MeDotOrg wrote:
Mon May 02, 2022 10:12 pm
First of all, I think there is value in this story. Government needs to continually re-examine the Raison d'être for governmental agencies.

But here's an example of the reverse corollary:

I worked for 2 companies in the 1990's. Both of them adopted a management style that looked at all sectors of the company as 'revenue centers'. If you weren't generating revenue you got your budget cut. Customer service didn't generate much revenue, ergo not needed.

For the first few quarters, things looked rosy. Less overhead in Customer Service, more profit. But poor customer service led to cancellations. Guess what? It took MORE money to get new customers to replace the ones who were cancelling than it would have taken to maintain staffing in Customer Service.

How does this correlate to Government spending? In a million ways, from providing pre-natal care to bridge maintenance. A short term budget cut can create a long-term problem.
I worked for two companies in the 90's that were profitable.
huckelberry
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Re: the night watchman

Post by huckelberry »

Well the story is a bit funny. In general idea I am pretty sure it is older than Ronald Reagan. As MeDotOrg has explained it could apply to all sorts of organizations. All sorts of organizations could take warning, that could include government.
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canpakes
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Re: the night watchman

Post by canpakes »

Gadianton wrote:
Mon May 02, 2022 3:48 pm
The Department of Energy was instituted on 8/04/1977, TO LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL.

Well, your friend doesn’t know much of the history and the responsibilities of the DoE, and he has taken to advertising his ignorance to the world.
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Doctor CamNC4Me
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Re: the night watchman

Post by Doctor CamNC4Me »

Weird how none of these GQP venture capitalists seem to hold the same level of disdain toward failed corporations, mom &pop businesses, subsidized industries, or government agencies they adore. Not to mention, as CP pointed out, the complete and utter misunderstanding of a department’s role within the federal government. It’s not to say structures, plans, policies, and compensation shouldn’t be tweaked or reorganized, but this whole ‘burn it down’ mentality toward government is bananapantsism born out of ignorance, stupidity, and an dogged determination to remain so.

And let’s be honest. There’s only one MAN who can FIX THIS:

Image

- Doc
Hugh Nibley claimed he bumped into Adolf Hitler, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Gertrude Stein, and the Grand Duke Vladimir Romanoff. Dishonesty is baked into Mormonism.
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MeDotOrg
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Re: the night watchman

Post by MeDotOrg »

Binger wrote:
Mon May 02, 2022 11:26 pm
MeDotOrg wrote:
Mon May 02, 2022 10:12 pm
First of all, I think there is value in this story. Government needs to continually re-examine the Raison d'être for governmental agencies.

But here's an example of the reverse corollary:

I worked for 2 companies in the 1990's. Both of them adopted a management style that looked at all sectors of the company as 'revenue centers'. If you weren't generating revenue you got your budget cut. Customer service didn't generate much revenue, ergo not needed.

For the first few quarters, things looked rosy. Less overhead in Customer Service, more profit. But poor customer service led to cancellations. Guess what? It took MORE money to get new customers to replace the ones who were cancelling than it would have taken to maintain staffing in Customer Service.

How does this correlate to Government spending? In a million ways, from providing pre-natal care to bridge maintenance. A short term budget cut can create a long-term problem.
I worked for two companies in the 90's that were profitable.
The companies I worked for were both profitable as well. I worked in electronic security in San Francisco, and between Biotech and Silicon Valley we were making money hand over fist. But there was a management style in the 90's that was based on quarterly profit statements rather than long term vision. A lot of managers got nice bonuses based on a few quarters, then moved on to greener pastures before the foundation crumbled.

The point I'm trying to make is that running a company or a country should involve both short term and long term planning. Long term planning (customer service, R&D, vesting employees) looks like a deficit on a quarterly spreadsheet, but looks can be deceiving.
The great problem of any civilization is how to rejuvenate itself without rebarbarization.
- Will Durant
"Of what meaning is the world without mind? The question cannot exist."
- Edwin Land
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